Chalcogenide semiconductor materials are used in many applications and their popularity is increasing in recent years. A chalcogenide is a binary compound of a chalcogen and a more electropositive element or radical. Chalcogens are the group XVI elements of the periodic table: oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, and polonium. One particularly popular chalcogenide semiconductor material is CIGS, copper indium gallium selenide. CIGS materials find use in various applications and are particularly popular as absorber layers for solar cells. Due to the growing demand for clean sources of energy, the manufacture of solar cells has expanded dramatically in recent years, increasing the demand for CIGS and other chalcogenide materials. CIGS is a tetrahedrally bonded semiconductor, with a chalcopyrite crystal structure. In addition to the CIGS, copper indium gallium selenide chalcogenide discussed supra, other chalcogenide semiconductor materials include CuInSe2, CuGaSe2, and indium. The aforementioned and other chalcogenide semiconductor materials such as CIGSS, copper indium gallium sulfur-selenide, are semiconductors with a chalcopyrite structure and are therefore often referred to as chalcopyrite-based semiconductor materials or chalcopyrite-structured semiconductor materials. Other chalcogenide materials may also include chalcopyrite crystal structures.
Solar cells are photovoltaic components that provide for the direct generation of electrical current from sunlight. The absorber layer that absorbs the sunlight that will be converted into electrical current, is therefore of paramount importance. The formation of the absorber layer, the composition of the absorber layer and the placement of the same on a solar cell substrate are therefore each critical matters. The demand for the efficient, accurate and reliable production of an efficient absorber film is of growing and critical importance.
It would therefore be desirable to produce a high quality chalcogenide film with superior absorber qualities, using a method and system that produces smooth and uniform deposited chalcogenide films that are defect free and efficient absorbers.